Movie Review: ‘Fits And Starts’

In our festival preview a few weeks back we teased this film and mentioned how we gravitate toward comedic dramas starring relatively unknown actors from comedy shows. When you look at films such as Obvious Child or Celeste & Jesse Forever, it seems like a golden formula to have supporting/guest stars from beloved television shows take on true-to-life topics like divorce, abortion and relationship obstacles.

Starring Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show) and Greta Lee (Inside Amy Schumer), Fits and Starts centers on a couple who both write for a living and the complexities involved with the competitive art scene. Anyone who’s married to someone in the same line of work knows how challenging such a thing can be — and Fits and Starts doesn’t hold back in proving it.

The great thing about Laura Terruso’s directorial debut is how the situations she throws her characters into feel as if they’re plucked from our own personal experiences. We may have not gone through the same series of trials the central couple face, but the way in which Terruso writes and directs them flows quite organically. There’s a natural progression because of her specificity.

While Fits and Starts may also be a smaller film to wind up on some streaming service, seek it out as soon as it’s made available because it’s the kind of film awards are made for.